DTS Outreach to Greece Week 3 update

Update from Graeme 

Week 3 started out as a rough week emotionally for many of us. We were told that Euro Relief (the organization we are working under) would no longer be working in the refugee camp. We were all startled at the news and had no idea what caused such a huge decision. They told us that it was an indefinite decision due to “alarming news” that had been discovered. All we could do was speculate about what had happened and pray that we would be allowed back soon. 

During this week we praised God for His timing and wisdom, and put the situation in His hands. We had faith that we would be allowed back into the camp (that we had been called here to work inside the camp), and so we praised Him for what He had done and what He was going to do. 

We also sang praises to Jesus and interceded on behalf of the refugees, specifically for safety on behalf of the Christians we had met in the camp. So often we take for granted that we have the freedom to be a follower of Christ, but public declaration of faith for a refugee can mean persecution and even death. A testament to the power of Jesus in our lives could be seen in the life of a refugee we met the first day we entered the camp. This young man used to be a successful Muslim rapper in his previous life. A few of the volunteers were able to develop a relationship with him. One day we heard he had accepted Christ into his life and had been baptized. A few days later he had the opportunity to lie to get himself out of the camp and onto the next stage in process of going to Europe. Instead of taking this opportunity he decided to tell the truth which made it so that he wasn’t accepted to this next stage. We asked him about that and he said he wanted to do things the right way and that Jesus is in control of his life. If he had to stay in the camp longer he would do it because it was the will of God. He said he was willing to die in the camp if he had to. We were amazed but also very encouraged to hear such dedication from such a new believer. The best news was when the next time we saw him he told us he got his papers to go to Athens. That means he is that much closer to being able to start his new life, in a new country.

We were so happy for that news, but sad that we will not be able to say goodbye to many of our friends who are already leaving for Athens. It is a bittersweet feeling, but we are just happy to see so many people turning to Christ.

In the meantime, Bruce has done a great job finding things for us to do. We did beach clean up which is exactly what is sounds like. There is so much rubber from the dinghies that need to be cut up and taken to the dump. Our job was to cut the rubber and make a

human chain to bring the pieces up the beach to an area where a truck can take them away. The volunteer organization in charge of that project wasn’t used to having lots of people to help, because every day we were there we did way more than they expected us to do.

We also went into town where the refugees like to hang out. It was a great experience as we got to play soccer with greeks and refugees and there were people to worship in the park with us. It was a great day and to cap it all off we got to bring a refugee friend back to the hotel with us. We swam in the pool with him and had a

worship session with him. We got to pray for him and Chloe gave him a drawing of him she had made. He seemed overwhelmed with joy and told us that day was a gift from God. He stayed the night at our hotel and we found him a ride to the camp the next day. He messaged Chloe later that day saying he was crying with joy. Such simple actions can go such a long way. We are now praying for him to get his papers to go to Athens. He wants to end up in Canada at some point, but also to see his family in Germany.

The story he told us about he got to the island was heartbreaking. He was on a rubber dingy with mostly children. They noticed a slash in the boat and it started filling up with water. He thought he was going to die and have to watch all the children drown. Thanks to God, a boat came by and was able to rescue them and take all of them to safety. When the team took him to see the life jackets, he had memories of Gods goodness and grace. He was amazed by all the life jackets, and called it a dream come true that we were able to spend the day with him and uplift him. 

DTS Outreach to Lesvos, Greece Week 2 Update

"They will know we are Christians by our love." 

From before the beginning of outreach, we knew that evangelism in the camps was going to look different than it did in Guatemala. The people we encounter on our shifts at the refugee camp are primarily Muslims, and to help protect Euro Relief (the program we are partnering with) there are limitations on the ways we can express our faith with the refugee's. During our orientation, we were told to live Matthew 25. Jesus says that when we feed the hungry, when we give the thirsty something to drink, when we welcome strangers, when we clothe the naked, when we care for the sick, when we visit prisoners -  this, we did for Him. There are opportunities to meet those needs every day at the refugee camp. 1 John 3:18 says: "Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth." 

We all know 1 Corinthians 13. We know that we love because God first loved us. We know that God is love, and we know that when we love, we are representing Him. Still, very day we walk into the camp, I find my self asking the Lord:

"Today, what does love look like?"

Sometimes, love looks like giving all of your energy and more to a group of 30 children who are bored, restless, and crazy. Love looks like letting four kids play with your hair at once, or letting them draw on your face with chalk, or playing games with them for 8 hours straight (somehow managing to keep their attention for more than 2 minutes). Sometimes, love looks like bandaging the arms of men who cut themselves because they could no longer handle the pain of the trauma, hopelessness and despair that they feel. Sometimes, love looks like sorting through clothing boxes all day - looking for clothes with limited resources. Love looks like giving people laundry detergent, when it is the only need on their list we can meet. Love looks like patience when refugees raise their fists and voices because we don't have any mens shoes to give them. 

"I still love you!" one of our leaders likes to say in response. 

Love looks like helping a man clean up his tent because someone has covered every inch of it with alcohol. It looks like finding a place for is wife and children to sleep, who are shaking with terror. Love looks like preventing a riot by playing board games with the men who are angry that they couldn't get their papers to leave the refugee camp. Love looks telling our stories, and it also looks like listening to the stories of the refugees. Love looks like encouraging the refugee that met Jesus 5 days ago, and says that the dangers of his new faith are "not important to him." Love looks like continually visiting a 16 year old who recently discovered Jesus through a vision, and lives in a Muslim family that does not encourage his faith. Love looks like building relationships, and visiting people more than once. Love looks like working your hardest, no matter how simple your job that day may seem.  Love looks like interceding for the refugees when it is not safe for us to enter the camp. Love looks like holding and singing to a little girl for as long as she needs because she is tired, lonely, sad, and just wants to be held. 

What the team has realized is that sometimes, our actions seem like small things; but when we do them with love, they become big things. When we love with everything we have, people ask questions. When we do Matthew 25, people want to know about the God we serve. The team continually thanks God for the opportunities we have had to share Jesus through actions and through conversations. 

 

The UNHCR estimates over 8,000 refugees have died trying to cross the Mediterranean Sea to get to Europe since 2014. This week, we saw thousands of life jackets, clothes, rubber dinghies, and boats that were used to help carry people from the Middle East into Europe. It had a huge impact on all of us because we've seen these people and heard their stories that have led them to take such a dangerous trek across the sea in hopes of a safer and better life. This crisis is very real, and these refugees are in great need. Please be in prayer for the situations in Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan, and all of the Middle East. Most of these nations are very dangerous to enter but here in Greece where there are thousands of refugees from different nations we have the opportunity to share with them the Good News that Jesus Christ is Lord and in Him there is hope, peace, love, and everlasting life. We are honored by this incredible opportunity the Lord has given us. 

Due to security issues, for the next little while volunteers are unable to enter the refugee camp. We do not know when we will be able to return, however, please be praying that it will be as soon as possible. In the mean time, pray that God would show us different ways we can be serving Him here in Lesvos. 

DTS Outreach to Lesvos, Greece: Week 1

Blog post brought to you by Graeme
Our first week on outreach has been very eventful. We have already had so many fun adventures and are still looking forward to many more. We have seen God move in some different ways and it has been so exciting.
Our first few days this week were spent traveling. We flew from Guatemala City, Guatemala to San Salvador, El Salvador. We spent an hour in the airport then flew to Madrid, Spain, a 9 hour flight. From there we flew to Barcelona, Spain and spent the night in a hostel not too far from the airport. The next morning we flew to Athens, Greece and then after a long layover we flew to the island of Lesvos, where we will be spending the next month.
After all that travel the adventure had just began. We landed at around 9PM and after collecting all of our luggage we found the two 9-passenger vans we rented. Bruce was one driver, and Tyler, our only other person who is allowed to drive took the other van. Bruce’s van had most of the people and Tyler’s van had a few people and all of the luggage (Bruce may have had it that way because of Tyler’s lack of stick-shift experience). Bruce’s van led the way on the hour long journey from the city of Mytilene, to the town of Molyvos where our hotel is.
The road winds through the mountains, with narrow roads and hairpin turns, but Tyler was able to keep up with Bruce. After a few wrong turns and missed exits Tyler’s van realized they were running low on gas. Maybe it was the extra baggage, or maybe it was just getting out of first gear, but the gas light was on and Tyler’s van was in serious danger of running out of gas. After backtracking for a few minutes because of a wrong turn, despite all the prayers, Tyler’s van finally gave out. It could go no further. The van was in the middle of the road and it needed to be moved. Memo, Chloe, Alyssa and Marissa answered the call and pushed the car safely to the side of the road while Graeme watched on, supervising from the beach .
At this point it was about one o’clock in the morning. The students did what any DTS group would do; they got in a circle and thanked Jesus for having them run out of gas in front of a beautiful beach under the stars. Then they began a worship session. It wasn’t long until Bruce showed up with the other van and after taking the girls to the hotel, he came back with gas to take the boys to the hotel.
The next day was mostly spent resting and catching up on sleep. We were given orientation and told how we were expected to act in the refugee camp, as representatives of YWAM, Eurorelief (the organization we are working under) and Jesus Christ.
Our first shift we pulled was an overnight shift, 12AM-8AM. When we showed up we learned that there had just been a riot. The volunteers working the shift before us had been evacuated after the tent they were working in had rocks thrown through it. There had been a fight and one of the guys ran into the tent seeking medical attention. Unfortunately, he was under hot pursuit and many men broke down the door, while other angry men threw rocks in after him. There was an altercation that occurred inside the tent as well, but all the volunteers were led safely out.
By the time we arrived, tensions were lower and people were calming down. A few minor fights broke out throughout the night but nothing too serious. That night most of us worked in the family compound, playing with kids and talking to people who were still awake. Some of us guys worked in the info tent, where we try to meet people’s needs by fixing their tents or handing out supplies such as diapers to mothers, razors to the men, and other miscellaneous needs.

During the day we do a variety of tasks. We put tents together, we take clothe orders and deliver the orders that we have taken. There are lots of clothes that we try to give out, but everyone at the camp has certain things they need and keeping up with demand is impossible. We are looking into more efficient ways to hand out clothing to those in need. 
A few of us had an encounter with some Muslim ladies who needed clothes. We brought them clothes for their families and they were so thankful. None of them spoke English but we managed to communicate for a while with laughing and smiling and broken English and Arabic. We had been praying for someone who could translate so that we could share more about ourselves and understand what they were telling us. Pretty soon, a friend of theirs showed up and she could speak great English. We got to stay a lot longer and have fun with the families. We have been back again and each time the family is happy to see us. Please pray that we will be good witnesses and be given wise words to share Christ with these families.

We would like to thank you for praying for us. We arrived safely in Greece and are so confident that this is where the Lord wants us. Many of us are battling sickness and we can We feel fatigue kicking in. Please continue to pray for the health of our team and for divine encounters from the Lord. We would love the opportunity to witness to families and see people come to Christ.